Whenever you think of million dollar HDB flats, you might think of loft units perched on high floors, flats belonging to the now-defunct DBSS scheme, or perhaps even large unit types like 5-room flats, executive maisonettes or executive apartments.
Well, that may be true, but you probably wouldn’t expect a 3-room flat to make the list. However, that scenario has finally become reality; back in December 2024, a 3-room that had just crossed its 5-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) just exchanged hands for an eye watering $900K, setting the record for the most expensive 3-room resale HDB flat ever.
3-room flat sold for $900K; the most expensive 3-room flat ever sold
Image: HDB
You may be familiar with how HDB flats at the Bidadari estate have just recently crossed their 5-year MOP. This means that they are just beginning to hit the resale market, and giving us an indication of how highly valued they are by homebuyers. For instance, back in October last year, there were a handful of flats at Alkaff Vista that were sold for over a million dollars shortly after crossing their MOP, which is indeed no mean feat given that they have essentially doubled in value in just 5 years.
Well, it seems that this will likely be the trend for flats in the estate, and the numbers certainly don’t lie. Just last month, a 3-room flat located at Block 115C Alkaff Crescent was sold on the resale market for an amazing $900K, which set the record for the most expensive 3-room flat sold in the Toa Payoh estate, and even the whole of Singapore.
Let that sink in for a moment – a 3-room flat was just sold for $900K! To give you some perspective:
- Back in Sep 2024, a 94sqm 4-room flat at the adjacent Bidadari Park Drive was sold for $935K
- Just this month alone, a 134sqm 5-room flat at the neighbouring estate of Potong Pasir was sold for $960K
The transacted price translates to an average of around $1,178 psf, which is two times higher than that of the average psf for a 3-room flat.
Image: Google Maps
Launched as part of the November 2015 BTO exercise, the HDB development – named Alkaff Lakeview – had flats priced at upwards of $154K for 2-room Flexi, $297K for 3-room, $433K for 4-room, and $544K for 5-room units. Assuming that the 3-room flat had a launch price of $300K that basically means that it TRIPLED its value in just a short 5 years, which is one of the steepest and highest price appreciation trends in history.
Bidadari: the next estate for million-dollar homes?
Of course, Bidadari is no stranger to million-dollar homes. We already saw a glimpse of how popular it is as an estate back when it was first launched in several BTO sales exercises; at the height of its popularity, subscription rates went from an average of 4.0-7.0 to almost as high as 20.0 for a 5-room flat in the area.
As mentioned earlier, there is an undeniable trend that flats here in Bidadari are priced spectacularly, setting all sorts of records especially considering that they have just crossed their 5-year MOP and so have quite a substantial amount of lease remaining.
Take for example 4-room flats located at Block 106 Bidadari Park Drive, which is just across the road from Alkaff Crescent. The earliest recorded transaction was in Aug 2024, with a 4-room flat already sold for $1.08M. The following month saw a handful of flats sold for over a million, and ever since the prices have not gone below $930K.
Being one of the first few 3-room flats in Bidadari being sold, you can expect that our $900K flat will be setting the benchmark for future 3-room flat transactions in the area. It’s probably a matter of when, not if, for us to eventually see a one-million dollar 3-room flat.
Just why is the Bidadari estate so popular?
Image: Google Maps
As you can tell, Bidadari is a highly-desirable location to live in. But why is that the case? What’s the thinking behind the sky-high desirability for flats in Bidadari?
Starting first within the estate, our Alkaff Crescent flat is just a short walk away from Woodleigh Mall, a recently-built shopping mall that has all the usual amenities and features that you would expect in a shopping mall, as well as direct underground access to Woodleigh MRT station. There are also several school options in the area (e.g. Cedar Girls Secondary School, Maris Stella High School, St Andrew’s Schools), including various childcare centres and kindergartens, which make it a top pick for those with young children.
Another possible reason for its high demand would be its proximity to older housing estates such as Serangoon, Potong Pasir, and Toa Payoh. In this instance, young couples or families would want to stay in Bidadari so that they can have a place of their own in a young estate, but not be too far from their parents living in the older estates.
Of course, the fact that it has just crossed its MOP would be a contributing factor to its price. Just crossing its MOP means that the flat is the ‘freshest’ and ‘newest’ as it can be, and so lease decay is a non-issue.
Beyond the estate, Bidadari is also located close to the central region of Singapore, which affords its residents convenience in accessibility to other parts of Singapore. For example, driving from Alkaff Crescent to places such as the CBD, Orchard Road or East Coast Park can be as short as 10 mins. Having the North-East Line at your doorstep is also pretty handy, giving you MRT access to places like Dhoby Ghaut, Harbourfront or Punggol which sit along the same line.
Which other nearby areas can you look into as an alternative?
Image: Google Maps
If Bidadari flats are unfortunately out of your budget, then fret not, there are some similar alternatives located nearby that you can consider, especially if you’re looking to live in the central region of Singapore.
Other than Bidadari, you can perhaps consider the neighbouring estate of Potong Pasir or Serangoon. While they do not have HDB flats that are as new as Bidadari, they do offer the same location perks as Bidadari, such as having a decent number of schools in close proximity, as well as being just a short drive away to popular places in Singapore. Otherwise, you can consider estates like Bishan or Toa Payoh, which are located not too far away from Bidadari.
Where do we go from here?
Given that other HDB unit types in Bidadari have broken all kinds of records in recent months, the writing has indeed been on the wall for some time now; expect Bidadari to be ranked very highly in terms of desirable estates Singaporeans want to live in, rivalling that of the likes of other popular places such as Tiong Bahru and Queenstown.
Is this $900K 3-room flat an outlier? Perhaps…only time will tell if there will be more of such 3-room flats being sold at such a high price point. However, given that this sale will undoubtedly make the news over the next few weeks, you can expect current homeowners to be tempted to cash in on their high profits, and even test the market’s appetite for a higher price point. We just have to wait and see!
Reed more about Bidadari flats here
- Alkaff Vista: Swift Sales Of Million-Dollar HDBs Just 2 Months After MOP
- Woodleigh HDB Neighbourhood Guide – Flat Prices, Amenities, Connectivity In This Upcoming Estate
Cover image adapted from: Google Maps
Drop us your email so you won't miss the latest news.
